Who plays Apollonia Vitelli in The Godfather?

Simonetta Stefanelli plays Apollonia Vitelli in The Godfather. Apollonia meets Michael Corleone in Sicily while he is hiding there after killing Sollozzo and McCluskey.

Michael marries Apollonia during his Sicilian exile. Their relationship is brief, but it is important to Michael’s personal history and to the film’s depiction of how his life is reshaped by violence and family obligations.

Apollonia is the daughter of a Sicilian family, and her scenes were filmed in Sicily. Her character is sometimes confused with Kay Adams, Michael’s American girlfriend and later wife. Diane Keaton plays Kay, while Stefanelli plays Apollonia.

The role was one of Stefanelli’s best-known international screen appearances. Apollonia’s fate also illustrates that Michael’s enemies can reach him even when he is far from New York.